A visually striking anti-abortion protest on Parliament Hill technically broke several rules on the use of the public space, but federal officials made special exceptions to allow the event to proceed anyway.
...
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair stopped to speak briefly with a volunteer that day, and five days later told a Planned Parenthood meeting that the person indicated the group had received "special" permission.

Schutten, who bought the flags wholesale, said there are no immediate plans to reprise the event in 2015, saying the 100,000 flags were later distributed in lots of 10,000 and given to affiliate groups in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia for smaller installations.

And now watch the CONs scurry away.

Marisa Monnin, spokeswoman for Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, said, "We'd like to reiterate that all individuals serving on the committee are public servants and that this decision was made independently."

Yah, sure.

In my original post, I called the little doohickeys "underground gas-line markers." The CBC articles calls them "irrigation flags". They're also know as stake flags and can be bought wholesale for the thrifty price of $7.70 per bundle of 100.